Fruit palm peel extract derived from supercritical CO2 extraction as a potent source of bioactive compounds

Abstract

Abstract. Supercritical CO2 extraction (S-CO2) was used as a green technology to extract oil from the milled fruit palm peels as a sustainable feedstock. The process was carried out at five different temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 ℃), constant pressure of 25 MPa, a flow rate of 5 mL/min, and a co-solvent ratio of 5% volume. An optimum oil extract yield of 3.95% was obtained at the highest temperature (80 ℃) after 150 mins of extraction. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were explored to characterize the chemical composition of the extract and simultaneously evaluated the presence of bioactive compounds using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Phytochemicals present in the extracts, namely, quercetin and beta-carotene, were quantified as 1.1929 and 2.3354 mg/g, respectively, while there was no amount of gallic acid detected in the extract.